Priceless

I have no words...

Governmental idiocy

My wife's CCW permit is up for renewal. So I go to the Wisconsin DOJ web site to help her do the deed.

They ask a few questions like what is the code on the renewal letter, your CCW number and driver's license number.

And a CAPTCHA picture matrix - "check all the pictures with mountains". etc.

This goes on for a few minutes. Finally, tired of this, I choose the audio CAPTCHA option.

I get a recording from Yahoo telling me that my computer is suspected of automated hacking of the CAPTCHA, or something to that nature.

If I was a violent person, the computer monitor would have half a dozen .357 caliber holes in it. But, as I am peaceful, I reloaded the page and tried yet again.

This time, it let me through, and my wife is now legal to carry a concealed weapon for the next few years.

What I want to know is - just how many "robots" try to renew Wisconsin CCW licenses in the typical day?

Zero emissions?

News report: Janesville has just purchased an "electric motorcycle" so the police can patrol the bike trails without having to lose their doughnut guts.

The Madison reporter breathlessly described it as "silent, and it doesn't emit any carbon!"

Unless the Janesville Police Department has erected a wind / solar charging station for this thing, it either burbs coal, natural gas, or uses nuclear power. "Renewable" energy is still a bit player in our power grid, and will remain there for the foreseeable future.

Also, isn't there a law against using motor vehicles on the bike paths?

An officer interviewed said he has to use his horn or call out to avoid startling people biking or walking, since the thing is so quiet.

What's wrong with having police officers in shape enough to ride regular bicycles? I'm sure that motorcycle cost the people of Janesville a pretty penny - or the entire USA, if it was bought with a "grant" from the feds...

Politicians try to fix stuff

Usually, they make things worse.

"The War on Poverty"
"The War on (some) Drugs"
"OsamaCare"
"Cash for Clunkers"
Glowbull worming - oops - "Climate Change"
"The New Deal" "Quantitative Easing"
"Affirmative Action "
Minimum wages
etc...

Now comes a Demonrat from New Jersey, Sen. Robert Menendez, angry that Target could screw up and expose millions of credit-card purchasers to fraud. He's got a sure-fire plan to fix things.

Let the SEC "fine" companies that lose customer's credit card or other personal information to hackers.

Great. The customers lose to the hackers, the stores get a federal fine - that goes right into the federal black hole, and the stores in turn raise prices to recoup their fine.

Everyone is happy, except the cheated customers, who still must deal with their deflicted credit card, and anyone who shops, as the prices go up to cover the new legal expenses.

I've got a real simple law that they could pass - make any retailer or credit-card company that loses customer information liable for every fraudulent charge and credit score loss suffered by any customer, along with a punitive fine payable directly - and tax-free - to the cheated customers. The stores might still raise their prices, but I'll bet they will be real careful with private information, knowing that they will have to pay for all the purchases a hacker might make, as well as paying the cheated for their time and trouble.

And, the federal government will never see a penny of that money.

Now - how could we make that idea work with outfits like the FDA and the EPA?

Shutdown

OK. The federal government is "shut down" for lack of money. 5/6 of Jugears' personal servants in the White House are on layoff.

There's no money to "run" the national parks or monuments. Especially the ones that require absolutely no human attention on a daily basis - like the veteran's memorials, that are in the open air and have no gates or admission hours, let alone attendants.

Somehow, though, Jugears has found the money to have a bunch of Park Service employees place barricades across sidewalks and in the grass to keep WWII vets away from their monument - the monument paid for with tax money, and their blood, sweat, and tears.

Somehow, the money was found to keep mounted park police on duty for the express purpose of preventing American citizens, especially veterans, from paying their respects to the fallen at them.

Several right-thinking members of Congress went out yesterday to remove the barricades Jugears personally ordered erected. Those barriers were reinstalled again today.

If the government was truly shut down, someone should have switched Jugears off for the duration.

WTF of the day

This is disturbing.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=38d3a1d5cc5a2de1c00cdc5b4836dde5&tab=core&tabmode=list&=

The U. S. Army Contracting Command - New Jersey, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, in support of the U.S. Army Research Development Engineering Command Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (RDECOM-ARDEC) and Several Program Offices, intends to issue a solicitation to all Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) holders to procure the following:

1. 592,825 (approx) AK Rifle Magazines: 7.62x39mm Caliber, New Production, Steel, 30 Round Capacity

OK. WHY does the Army want over half a million new production AK-47 magazines?

I can understand why they don't just get them from Eastern Europe - that would save money and avoid enriching some Congresscritter's relative or big campaign contributor who happens to own a factory here - besides, it would make sense to get AK mags from plants originally tooled to make them. Can't have common sense getting in the way of a little pork, after all.

Originally brought to my attention by this

Possible Emergency Alert For FEMA Region III: DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV

Below is a pretty big list of past events and current ones which are pretty much listed in order, and these events point to something big happening in FEMA Region Three which has DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV. Many different things are happening but they seem to be geared towards a monthly disaster that will collapse society and leave a shortage of food and possibly water. Read them below and remember this speculation on current purchases and political movement:

Tripling down on stupid

The Ill-Annoys Department of Transportation (IDOT) has been working on extending the four-lane part of Ill. Rte. 2 north from Rockford to south of Latham Road since back in February. Rte 2 has been a two-lane road with clearly marked passing zones for decades. When the construction is finished, this original section of Rte. 2 will be a frontage road.

About a month ago, they put up two of those electronic bulletin boards with the messages "TWO-WAY TRAFFIC" and "PASS WHEN ALLOWED", one at either end of the existing two-lane portion paralleling the new road.

About two weeks ago, they doubled down with big orange warning signs showing up and down arrows, indicating two-way traffic - something usually reserved for four-lane roads narrowed down during construction.

Last week, big rectangular orange signs with the legend "TWO WAY TRAFFIC NEXT X miles" went up - one telling us the next three miles of the two-mile zone is two-way, and the other about two miles south on the northbound lanes telling us that the zone is two miles long. At least they got that distance right.

Rte. 2 in this area is not all that heavily traveled, but I can see that the solons in charge are "thinking ahead" - they put in a beautiful chunk of four-lane interstate quality road from the south side of South Beloit for about four miles - a typical federally-funded pork project "road to nowhere". So, ultimately, they will end up taking a few dozen homes and farms by eminent domain to make the four-lane continuous from Rockford to South Beloit, enabling heavy development of a nice open agricultural area that developers would never look at without the road improvements. For Sale signs are up on several farms in the area already.

What I don't understand is how Ill-Annoys is affording all this road improvement when the state is supposedly bankrupt. Federal "stimulus" money stolen from our great-grand kids, I suppose. There are numerous bridges on Rte. 251 between Machesney Park and South Beloit getting rebuilt - these are bridges that were in reasonable shape, not the ones we hear about in dire need of fixing, and the intersection with Rte. 173 has been under construction for over a year now. Rte. 251 is the major route between Beloit and Rockford.

I have long suspected that when they named IDOT, they forgot the second 'I'.

Free phones!

Just ask Uncle Sam - someone else will pay the bill...



A feel-good law that did what every feel-good law does - nothing good.

Save a tree - abolish the BATFE!

Just got a love note from these guys - as a FFL, I am required (by an illegal rule promulgated by an illegal bureaucracy) to use the latest and greatest issue of the good-old 4473 form whenever I transfer a freedom tool to a citizen exercising his or her inalienable right - as guaranteed to not be infringed by the Second Amendment of that almost forgotten document.

Well, the pencil-pushers decided that there's no reason anymore to verify that a resident alien is truly a resident of the state he or she attempts to purchase a firearm in - so all those yellow 4473s are not obsolete and "illegal" to use after July 9th.

So, a stack of about 200 of them just went into the garbage - I won't glorify them with recycling.

How many millions were just wasted on printing a new 4473, and mailing half a ream of paper to every FFL in America?

Thank you, Department of Homeland Security!

They just gave me my new email signature. Story at the Daily Mail.



Someone needs to take these images and make a text file of them.

I had thought that the powers that be had learned their lesson with Carnivore...

If...

Everyone's linking to this, so why not. It's important to get it out there.

Rant

I'm pissed.

When I started my business in Wisconsin years ago, I got a sales tax account, since I could not buy anything from wholesalers unless I could show them my sales tax certificate.

The Department of Revenue wanted periodic filings of how much I collected. Since I had nothing in the way of sales, I kept reporting "$0". Finally, they revoked my certificate because I never had anything to file.

Now, it happens that I have an opportunity to actually sell some merchandise - and the wholesaler won't sell it to me unless I send them a copy of my sales tax certificate.

So, being a good citizen, I went to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue web site and tried to use their on-line registration to get the certificate. Doing it by mail takes up to 15 days, and my customer is impatient.

It asks me if I've registered my business - "yes", as I have an LLC.

I use my SSN as an ID. It accepts this.

Now, it wants to know my name. Put that in. Next, it asks if I am a "Disregarded Entity". What the f**k is that? The other choices are "Single Member of a Disregarded Entity" or "None of the Above". The first choice is greyed out.

"None of the Above". Click OK.

Now it wants to know which permits I want. The Seller's Permit, which is what I want, is greyed out. I should feel free to ask for permits to run a dry-cleaning business, though.

Back a step - select "Single Member of a Disregarded Entity".

Now, it wants my "FEIN". I have no employees, and have always used my SSN. The IRS is happy with that. Put in my SSN. It takes it. Put in my legal business name. Onward.

Again, it asks what permits I want. Seller's permit is now un-greyed. Select that. Now, I get a check mark in the box for other permits I don't need. Onward.

It wants to know about the "Disregarded Entity" now. The choices are "account in single owner's name" - greyed out - and "account in LLC". So, select LLC.

Now it wants detail about where I have the shop. Fill out all the blanks, including telling them I don't live in special tax areas or run limousines. Next.

Tell them I expect minimal sales. Next.


Now comes the fun. "Disregarded Entity" information. Immediately, I have a RED BOX! My SSN is not acceptable! There's a box for "Business or Individual". The first time through, it lets me deselect "Business" and I try to enter "Individual".

It automatically changes back to "Business", and puts that RED BOX back up. Now, I can't change anything. It won't allow me to proceed until I tell it my FEIN, which I don't have.

It won't let me ENTER an FEIN, even if I had one.

Wasted an hour f**king with this crap. Now I have to take time off a paying job tomorrow to call their phone number and wait for a human.

This is why I am an anarchist.

IRS hiring prisoners to do your taxes!

Almost:

Prisoners May Be Preparing Your Tax Return

A story in USA Today reports that inmates, some of them serving life sentences, have applied to the IRS to be tax preparers. Most of them did not reveal that they were incarcerated. It’s good to know that prisoners are trying to be productive members of society. It’s kind of like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption (1994) who does the books for the warden and the prison guards.

While Andy was innocent of the crime of murder that got him into prison, he used his considerable financial skills to turn the tables on the corrupt warden. He learned how to be a criminal while in prison. It’s quite a story worth watching. I suggest that you watch an edited version since the language and some of the scenes are kind of rough.

Maybe these incarcerated prisoners got their inspiration from watching Shawshank.

The inmates and ex-cons were among thousands of applicants who got the identification numbers from the IRS from September 2010 through July 2011 as the agency began phasing in a 2009 congressional mandate that requires many preparers to file tax returns electronically.

There is just one problem. The prisoners will have access to the social security numbers of the tax returns they’re working on.

If the prisoners have access to the internet, and they have Social Security numbers at their disposal, who knows what kind of mischief they will be able to get into, especially if they have someone on the outside to help them.
It’s kind of appropriate that criminals want to work for the IRS. They’ll fit right in.

Read more: Prisoners May Be Preparing Your Tax Return | Godfather Politics

Found at Rivrdog:
++++++++++++++++

T.E.O.T.W.A.W.K.I.

No, REALLY the end of the world as we know it.
Copied from an anonymous email, but research says it came from here.

A Sobering Article!

There is nothing political about this email.  It simply points out very probable changes that are in our future.

CHANGES ARE COMING ----

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them.  But, ready or not, here they come.

++++++++++++++++
A good discussion of where deindustrialization is taking us. 99.999% due to overweening government regulation and micromanagement, with a heaping helping of union activism thrown in.

Go read  the whole thing.

California's view of "reasonable gun control"

Personal Property taxes

When I lived with my parents in Chicago, my Dad got a "personal property tax" bill from Crook County. He tore it up and threw it away. Never paid. No one I ever heard of ever paid.

When I had my body shop in Barrington, Illinois, I got a notice from Cuba Township (Lake County) to fill out their form listing all my tools and such and send them money based on their evaluation of the value of the equipment I had either gotten when I bought the shop, or paid tax on when I bought it myself. I threw the forms away as my Dad did.

Cuba Township was a bit more insistent - some clerk called to see if I had received their letter. I told them "no", and they sent a second copy, which also went into the shitcan.

Now that I live in Wisconsin, I discovered that "Personal Property Tax" exists here, too. It is levied on businesses only, at least. In Crook County, they expected everyone to pay it, even if no one (intelligent) did.

Talk about a regressive tax - you should pay the gov't. yearly "rent" on equipment you paid sales tax on, using money you paid income tax on, for the privilege of being allowed to employ people who will pay taxes, and produce merchandise that will ultimately also be taxed, and hopefully make a profit that also will be taxed. Of course, we all have to pay "property taxes" on our homes and farms, so this is not so unexpected. At least, here, there are no tax inspectors going door-to-door, as I have heard of in other states, such as Indiana...

I wonder how much it costs Wisconsin to keep all the records that this antiproductive tax requires, and how much in lost productivity it costs Wisconsin manufacturers to fill all the forms out.

 Another thing we ought to encourage the Tea Party to tackle. Government should live on some small percentage of the gross profit of the governed area, and nothing else. No fees, surcharges, special taxes, tariffs, nothing. Just a fixed percentage of the economy. If the economy suffers, the government should not be exempt from the suffering, especially since a sick economy is usually the direct result of governmental meddling at some level.

How to clean up a "green" CFL

Official Government Training Film.

What's the old saying about handling "protected" varmints?

Shoot, shovel, shutup. Seems like "sweep, shitcan, shutup" would be appropriate here...

Sometimes, they write themselves

Reading through the paper today, this jumped out at me:

Mar. 21, 2011 3:32 AM ET
USDA funds research on crops and climate change
STEVE KARNOWSKISTEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The federal government is investing $60 million in three major studies on the effects of climate change on crops and forests to help ensure farmers and foresters can continue producing food and timber while trying to limit the impact of a changing environment.

Further on in the article,  we find out who will be in charge of these studies.

The corn project will be led by a rural sociologist, Lois Wright Morton of Iowa State University.

Tim Martin, a professor of tree physiology at the University of Florida is the head of the forestry project.

The leader of the wheat project is Sanford Eigenbrode, an entomologist at the University of Idaho.

Of the three, the only one I see as remotely qualified to lead an agricultural research project is Mr. Martin. At least the forestry project is led by someone with a degree in a tree related science.

What, exactly, is a "rural sociologist', and how does this relate to growing corn? Fertility rites? The frequency of farmers "shuckin' them dirty ol' work clothes off"? Looks to me like she will be studying the study participants, not doing anything useful towards getting crops to grow.

Entomologists study insects. OK, I get it - insects affect crops. But the AP quote for him involves the amount of carbon that grain crops "sequester" and how much nitrous oxide is released by fertilizer use.

Leave it to our government to spend $60,000,000 of our money and choose people apparently unqualified to lead the projects. Also, to misstate the aims of many of the studies. If they are so concerned on getting crops to grow in changing climates, why the emphasis on "greenhouse gases" that may or may not be important?